New to working out, What foods to avoid/eat??

[YELLOW_STL_MACH]

I've got a pretty decent build to start. I'm 6'1", 220lbs. I started hitting the gym pretty consistantly a few months ago, and am sticking to my schedule a LOT better than I expected. I am also making an effort to eat better as well. (My previous diet consisted of whatever was close. (I'm on the run quite a bit so it was mainly fast food.)

I'm doing about 70% Weights/30% cardio.

My goal is to tone up while shedding some fat. (The only area that I have pretty noticable fat is the waist.)

So my question is, what foods should I stick to to lose fat. (Combined with exercise of course.)

I've mainly been eating tuna, and other high protien type items after working out, and salads & Grilled chicken but would love to broaden my options.

Thanks guys, and I look forward to posting more.

 

[Rodja]

Could you be a little more specific about your diet and/or supplements?

 

[YELLOW_STL_MACH]

Could you be a little more specific about your diet and/or supplements?

I have no specific diet yet. (That's my problem.) I'm just trying to stay clear of fast food and the like.

The only thing I'm taking now is a daily multivitamin and Hydroxycut Hardcore.

Any suggestions on supplements/Diet?

I'm not really looking to compete or anything, just lose fat and add/tone muscle. (The only difference is I'm not the average person who says they will eat healthy and work out and quit after 2 weeks.)

 

[Ziricote]

Could you try to find out your bodyfat% or even let us know what your waist measurement is?

Foods you want to stick with are whole foods, such as wholewheat bread, pasta, rice and chicken, turkey, tuna, beef, fish. Healthy fats are olive oil, fish oil, flaxseed oil or you can get one of those 'all in one' healthy oils.

 

[Pitbull954]

Stay away from simple sugars. (Sodas, candy, etc, etc..)

Try to limit your carbs to your pre and post workout. Good sources are oats, brown rice.

Cardio, Cardio, Cardio

Foods to eat, chicken, fish, tuna, turkey, some beef isn't going to KILL you but try to limit it. Green veggies. I would search around on here for some good diet plans.

 

[drumirvin]

Yellow, Pitbull put it all into perspective. Changing your body by going to the gym is not only lifting weights but altering your lifestyle. It is a lifechange that will make you are break you. A good example of this is when we are younger we can eat just about anything and still hit the gym and make pretty decent gains. Try eating crap when you are 30 and see what happens. It sounds like you are more in it for the long haul rather than stepping on stage. I still recommend even for the non-competitor to work their azz off in the gym (you ain't puking you ain't workin it) Diet is key....95% of what you do in the gym and how you look rest on what goes down your throat everyday. I would limit your fast food intake to zilch or none or very, very little. Since your on the run alot, you need to premake your food and put em' in baggies or tupperware and eat 6 times a day. Stick to the basics...Chicken, chicken, oh and some chicken and uh...more chicken and maybe just maybe soem LEAN beef every once in a while...and if you don't remember anything I told ya...remember this..PROTEIN and CARBS together....PROTEIN and FATS together...OK CARBS and FAT NOT OK. Now go find a diet and follow it and let us know how your doing in 10 weeks. You might submit the basics for your diet so someone can critique it. Good luck and may the force be with you...

 

[rampage jackson]

I eat this really cool **** called the search button...always leaves me happy.

 

[YELLOW_STL_MACH]

I eat this really cool **** called the search button...always leaves me happy.

I appreciate the advice, but if I searched for "Diet" or "Healthy Foods" I'd spend all my time sitting on my a$$ reading posts instead of at the gym working out.:good:

I don't know my body fat, My waist is a 37 (Pants wise, I'm between a 36 and 38)

Like I said I'm super new to structured diet and excersise so I apologize if I don't know some of these things. (I really appreciate the help from you guys.)

 

[Bankshot]

Most gyms can take your bodyfat % for you, I try to monitor it monthly (Less when i'm bulking) to keep on eye how how lean I stay.

Most general food suggestions were listed, I believe theres some recipes around here for some more creative ideas if you get tired of the same old stuff.

If you'd like to get more advanced, watching calorie intake daily can be beneficial depending on what you're going for specifically. Currently i'm on more of a cutting cycle so my calories/day are limited. I personally stay away from breads, pastas, and a few other things I can't think of at the moment because i'm tired and headed to sleep.

Supplement-wise, i've heard multiple opinions on Hydroxycut HC, I can't say I would recommend buying it constantly, but the choice is purely yours, throwing in a natural supplement such as Sesathin tends to provide great result with a good diet.

I'm losing my train of thought right now so i'm ending this before I give any bad ideas (if I haven't already :icon_lol. I'll post tomorrow if someone doesn't beat me to it to answer any further questions.

Yes, i'm new to the boards also, been hanging around for awhile but this being my first post. I'd give a whole intro, but sleep time, gym early.

 

[YELLOW_STL_MACH]

Supplement-wise, i've heard multiple opinions on Hydroxycut HC, I can't say I would recommend buying it constantly

I used to take Hydroxycut with ephedra and felt it did make a little difference, even if the hardcore doesn't do much it was at least a good motivator to get me working harder. (And the masive caffiene REALLY gets me working harder.)

 

[alan aragon]

and if you don't remember anything I told ya...remember this..PROTEIN and CARBS together....PROTEIN and FATS together...OK CARBS and FAT NOT OK. Now go find a diet and follow it and let us know how your doing in 10 weeks. You might submit the basics for your diet so someone can critique it. Good luck and may the force be with you...

Uh oh, can you explain your reasoning behind this? I'm not trying to bait you into a serpent pit, I just want to hear why I can't mix peanubutter into my oats, or put olive oil dressing into my bean-containing salads.

 

[alan aragon]

I've got a pretty decent build to start. I'm 6'1", 220lbs. I started hitting the gym pretty consistantly a few months ago, and am sticking to my schedule a LOT better than I expected. I am also making an effort to eat better as well. (My previous diet consisted of whatever was close. (I'm on the run quite a bit so it was mainly fast food.)

I'm doing about 70% Weights/30% cardio.

My goal is to tone up while shedding some fat. (The only area that I have pretty noticable fat is the waist.)

So my question is, what foods should I stick to to lose fat. (Combined with exercise of course.)

I've mainly been eating tuna, and other high protien type items after working out, and salads & Grilled chicken but would love to broaden my options.

Thanks guys, and I look forward to posting more.

Looks like you're starting from ground zero as far as nutrition basics go, so try not to get caught up in the small stuff just yet. Just know that it doesn't have to be fancy or complex, and focus on the food 1st, then worry about supps when necessary. Get as much of a variety of foods as possible from all 6 basic groups every day:

-- protein/flesh (all kinds of land & sea flesh, protein powder)
-- fats (nuts, avocado, olive oil, fish/flax oil, etc)
-- fibrous veggies (the list is loooong)
-- starches (whole grain products & starchy veggies)
-- milk & milk products (if you're lactose intolerant, stick with small amounts of cheese & yogurt)
-- fruit

For your goals in particular, a gram of protein per pound of target bodyweight is in the ballpark. Your protein needs probably wouldn't exceed that unless you were dieting really aggressively, which it doesn't sound like you're about to. 1-2 grams of carb per pound of target bodyweight is the generally effective range for guys who aren't looking specifically to mass up (those folks may need up to 3g/lb or more). Where you fall along that range (1-2g/lb) really depends upon your relative volume of exercise. Fat grams can be roughly ballparked by cutting your target bodyweight in half. Translating all this stuff into terms of actual food is gonna take either a built in memory of food stats (which a lot of experienced guys around here already have), or a site like nutritiondata.com or fitday.com.

As far as food avoidance goes, I'd warn against 100% avoidance of anything. You gotta be able to loosen up regularly to give your body & mind a break. the whole concept of "dirty" vs "clean" foods is debatable. Just do your best to dominate your diet with nutrient-dense whole foods & keep the refined stuff & desserts to a low roar. You can either schedule 1-2 "junk" meals per week, or you can have a small amount of "junk" every day (appx 10% of total kcals max). Either way will still allow progress, some find they don't need or want to cheat much at all, & that's fine for those weirdos

The rest honestly is personal trial & error.... And asking questions to the warm & nutruring member's of Bobo's Circus.

That's just my .02, everyone has their valid take on a subject this broad.

 

[TeamSavage]

So try not to get caught up in the small stuff just yet. Just know that it doesn't have to be fancy or complex, and focus on the food 1st, then worry about supps when necessary.

Very good advice. Listen to the man.